Africa-Press – Kenya. Two traffic police officers were on Monday arrested by officials from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over bribery allegations. The arrests were made when the officials conducted a high-profile crackdown targeting traffic police officers alleged to be soliciting and receiving bribes from motorists.
The commission in a statement onTuesday said the operations targeted major highways in Murang’a and Mtwapa towns during the busy festive season. One of the officers was arrested in Murang’a town following a targeted surveillance operation along the busy Kenol–Murang’a Road.
EACC said another traffic officer managed to evade arrest. According to EACC, the operation was triggered by multiple complaints from the public regarding rampant bribery by traffic officers.
During a search on the suspect said to be attached to a traffic base in Murang’a, authorities allegedly recovered Sh6,450 in small denominations. “The operation was launched after the Commission received multiple complaints from members of the public regarding rampant bribery by traffic officers,” EACC said in a statement.
“A search on the suspect led to the recovery of Sh6,450 in denominations of Sh50, 100 and 200, believed to have been collected within a two-hour period.”
The arrested officer was processed at the EACC Central Regional Offices and later released on cash bail from Nyeri Police Station pending investigations.
During the same operation, EACC officers disrupted another suspected bribery collection point along the Kerugoya–Kutus Road near the Bekam area, where traffic officers allegedly fled into nearby bushes, leaving behind official police attire.
Simultaneously, a separate team at the Coast arrested another officer in Mtwapa for allegedly soliciting bribes from motorists along the Mombasa–Malindi Highway.
Detectives allegedly recovered Sh13,750 from the officer before escorting him to Malindi for statement recording and further processing. According to the Commission, these actions are part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on bribery and corruption on major roads.
“The Commission urges members of the public to continue reporting corruption through EACC reporting channels,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The EACC confirmed it is scaling up surveillance in sectors prone to corruption to promote integrity, accountability and professionalism in public service.
